Sneakers
by team-percy7
Summary: Katie is a trouble-maker: stealing, skipping school, and basically defying all of her mother's instructions. But when a pair of sneakers mysteriously show up on her door step, her life is turned upside-down.
1. Chapter 1

I pulled my Nirvana beanie even more over my ears than it was and looked down at my lap. Sean wiggled in the hard plastic seat. He attempted to clean his glasses on his shirt, but only made them even more smudged. He shot me an accusing glance.

"This is your fault, Katie," he whispered harshly.

"Yeah. And?" I replied. I didn't care if I got in trouble. "You need to chill."

"How can I _chill_ when I'm sitting in the police station, waiting to see if the police will let me off the hook for _stealing_?" His voice shot up an octave, even in a whisper. The policeman at the desk shushed us and some guys on the other side of the room sniggered. I glared at them.

"What's'a matta, carrot-top?" A guy taunted. He had a thick Queens accent. "You and ya nerdy-ass boyfriend in _trouble_? Are the police gonna tell ya _parents_?" I shot them another look. Sean tapped his feet on the floor. The policeman at the desk shushed us once again.

The door of the police station opened. The bells jingled menacingly. I heard my mother's voice in the front room. After a couple of minutes, a policeman with a huge mustache walked in the room.

"Ms. Griffin and Mr. Soundsburry, you may go now. This _will_ be going on your permanent record. Don't let me find you stealing ever again." Sean and I got up. I glanced at Sean—his skinny legs were shaking under his baggy jeans. He was trying to hide it, and that was making it worse.

We walked out to the front room, where my mother stood, her arms crossed. She had red hair, like me, but that was the extent to our similarities. She worked all day, and barely had time for me. She was uptight and didn't know how to have fun. She was a very successful businesswoman. I still don't know exactly what she does, but she does something that rolls in the cash—fast. We lived in a large flat on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I went to the York Prep School, which I hated. They made me wear a skirt and a polo, which is totally against my black, ragged style. They didn't let me wear my hat, either.

"Katie." Mom said. Her brown eyes were hard. "Sean. To the car. Now."

* * *

We sat down in the car. She didn't even start the car before lecturing us.

"What were you thinking? This is the third time this has happened, Katie! You can't steal everything in life. I provide you with everything you need, anyway; it's not like you have a good reason to steal." I stayed silent, glowering at the leather seat. I plucked some fuzz off my jeans.

"And where is your uniform? Did you skip school again? Katie Achilla, tell me the truth." That's how I knew she was extra mad. She whipped out my horrible middle name. I remained silent.

"Katie," she said. "Tell me."

"Yes," I said finally, looking her straight in the eye. "I skipped school. And it's not like I stole anything valuable. I only stole a—"

"I don't care what you stole. I care _that_ you stole. You need to stop. I know you're doing this because of your father, but…" Whenever I got caught stealing, my mother always brings up my father. She had told me that he was long dead, though. Died before I was born. I don't see how it had to do with my father at all. I didn't even know his name. Anyway, I stole for fun. Because what else is there to do? I've mocked countless tourists, and museums were boring. So, I stole.

"Look, Mom," I said. "This has nothing to do with my father! I don't know why you say that every time I'm caught." She just sighed and turned on the car.

"And why did you drag Sean into this? He's a good kid. You know that Joe is going to be mad." Joe is Sean's dad. He's a really nice guy who I wish I lived with instead of my mom. He has a goatee and is in a wheelchair. Last time I got caught stealing with Sean, Joe grounded him for a month. I was grounded for two, but I got out anyway. What Mom doesn't know can't hurt her, right?

Mom talked on and on about how bad it was to steal, how school was important, my consequences (grounded for three months), and how I could drag Sean into this without feeling guilty. I rolled my eyes and Sean squirmed. We both hated it when my mom went into a rant like this.

Sean and I both lived in the same apartment building. Joe was waiting outside when we got there. His eyebrows were pulled tight together, his mouth in a frown. Not angry, but worried. My mother got out of the car, and Sean and I followed her example. I caught sight of Sean's quaking legs and grabbed his arm. It was a beautiful day out. For once, I didn't feel like I was breathing in soup.

The four of us walked into the building in silence. Joe and Sean got off on the third floor. Great, another level of silence. But this time, it was one-on-one silence. Finally, the elevator stopped on the fourth floor. I attempted to stroll out of the elevator like I couldn't give a care in the world, but just ended up tripping over the carpet. My mother sighed again.

"Go to your room," she instructed. "And don't come out until I call you. I'm ordering take-out." Again? I thought. This settles it: she has no clue how to cook. She wouldn't make a good wife. I knew that my mother was never married to my father. She didn't have any practice.

I unlocked the door and walked through the flat, into my room, and flopped down on my bed. I kicked off my beat-up old sneakers; I needed new ones. I knew that Mom wouldn't buy me any I would like, though. Just then, the doorbell rang, and I got up to get it, despite my mother's instructions. That doorbell changed my life.

**A/N: I hope you guys liked it! R&R, please =]**


	2. Chapter 2

I walked quietly out of my room, my socks making almost no sound on the carpet. I opened the door, but there was no one standing there. I looked down and almost screamed in delight. Sitting on the floor was THE perfect pair of shoes. Converse.

I know what you're thinking: they're just Converse! They're nice and all, but come on! Well, yeah. I know. But they are THE Converse that they don't sell anywhere, even here in New York City. They were high tops, with neon colors spiraling all over. Wavy patterns covered the whole shoe, a complex design only a true artist could think up. Black shoelaces protruded from the white lace holes. Shaking, I picked them up, checked the size. It was a size seven. Oh my gosh. My size. These are _made_ for me, I thought. I padded quickly back to my room. I tried to put my foot in the shoe, but my toe felt something crunchy. I reached my hand into the shoe. It was a note:

Dear Katie,

You don't know who I am, and hopefully won't for a long, long time. However, I know you. I haven't been a very good father to you, and I want to make it up. I know that just these shoes won't compensate for fifteen fatherless years, but I hope you will forgive me a bit. Maybe I will see you soon.

No signature. I didn't know what they were talking about with the whole "father" thing. My father was dead; my mother had even said so. Probably the wrong address. But how did they know I would like it, and how did they know my shoe size? Honestly, I didn't care. Beggars can't be choosers, right? I put on the shoes without guilt. They fit perfectly.

* * *

Outside of my bedroom is a little patio thing. It's pretty cool. There's a sliding door and everything. Underneath my patio is Sean's patio. I fished around in my pocket and took out a coin. I dropped it directly underneath me. It made a _plink_ sound, bounced off the floor and banged into the window. A couple seconds later, Sean opened the screen door, stepped outside, and looked up. His blond hair was even in more of a mess than usual. His brow was furrowed in that same worried expression that Joe had when we came back to the apartment.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Look!" I exclaimed. "A pair of awesome shoes showed up at my door!" I hung my foot over the edge.

"Cool," he said. "I like the design. Lemme see the bottom!" Sean loved the bottoms of shoes. It was really weird. I think it was because of his leg problem. He had a limp because of some muscular disease or something. He didn't want to fall, so he always made sure the bottoms of his shoes had a nice grip. I grabbed the chair on the patio, stood on it, and hung my foot even more over the edge.

He squinted at my foot. "I can't see it, what is it?" I brought the shoe over to me and examined it.

"It's that stick thing with the snake around it…you know, that Red Cross symbol, what do you call it again?"

"A caduceus?"

"Yeah, that's it!" His eyes widened in fear.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Nothing…just, get off that chair, you're gonna fall."

* * *

Finally, school was over. It had been three days since I got the shoes, but no one questioned them. Even though you're supposed to wear dress shoes to school, no teacher yelled at me and no student looked at me strangely. Mom didn't even see them. Not that she was ever around of course. The only people who seemed to know the shoes existed were Sean and I.

We had gotten our report cards that day, and, like usual, I failed most of my classes. My best grade was a C+, in art. It's not my fault I'm dyslexic _and_ ADHD, right? Whatever. Personally, I didn't really care. Mom tried everything to make me a better student, but it just didn't work. I would have to hide my report card.

After saying good-bye to Sean and waiting another minute to get up to my apartment, I made a mistake. I walked into my apartment and dropped my backpack in the kitchen. And left my report card on the kitchen table.

A couple hours later, Mom came home. She yelled hello, which I ignored. I continued playing on my computer. My door suddenly slammed open.

"Katie," my mother said. "_What. Is. This_?" And there she was, holding up the dreaded report card. I stood up abruptly.

"It's…uh, it's…"

"It's a report card! Look, you're failing all your classes!"

"Not art…" I muttered.

"Katie Achilla! You still got a C in—" She never got to finish her sentence.

The floor suddenly lurched up from under me. I let out a strangled scream. Everything was upside-down.

"Help! Mom, help!" She stood in the doorway, frozen with surprise. "Help me down, mom! WHY AM I UPSIDE-DOWN!?" I looked down (or up, I guess) at my shoes. My shoes had sprouted wings.

No. I'm not kidding. _Little white wings were holding me upside-down in mid-air. _My mom finally lurched from her spot and grabbed my hands, trying to pull me down. The shoes resisted. She started muttering to herself, something about a codeword. What had she said?

"ACHILLA!" She shouted. I dropped down from the air and crash-landed onto the carpet.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay, in chapter two, I wrote that Katie was fifteen. It was a mistake, I know, but I'm probably going to keep her that age. I like it better than thirteen, and I want her to be in high school. Okay, please R&R! Enjoy =D**

I stayed on the floor for a couple of seconds to catch my breath. Mom sat down on my bed and put her head in her hands. I finally got up and kicked off my shoes. My mom picked up the note I found in the shoe, which had been lying on the end of my bed. She read it over and over again while I stood and watched her awkwardly.

And then she started crying.

My up-tight, work-a-holic mother, who didn't seem to have any emotion except disappointment, was full out sobbing in my bedroom.

I didn't know what to say. Mothers don't cry in front of their kids, you know? Especially not this one. So I stuffed my hands in my pockets and stared at the floor, waiting out the storm.

Finally, her tears subsided. She sniffed a couple times and read the note again, tracing out the loopy handwriting with her index finger.

"Katie," she choked out. "I haven't been very straight with you. In fact, I barely talk to you. You have your father's eyes; it's painful to look at them. You need to know the truth about your birth.

"Your father and I were never married, you know that. He was on…business when I first met him. I was in Long Island, visiting my grandmother for three weeks. I was only seventeen, Katie, still in high school. I'm one of the lucky pregnant teens who even graduated, let alone become as successful as I did. It was a hard nine months, knowing who your father is.

"I was walking on the beach about three days into the visit. I was bored out of my mind; we had no cell phones or computers then, and the only thing to do at my grandmother's house was sit around and talk to her. She was from a remote town in Ireland who still spoke Gaelic. I didn't speak any Gaelic at all; it is a very hard language to learn. She spoke little English and had no books. So, I spent my time walking to ease the boredom.

"Anyway, I was walking, and it was sunset, I remember that. I saw, sitting on a rock a couple feet away from me, was a boy my age. He was beautiful: blond, curly hair and blue eyes like yours. He had a messenger bag next to him, so I thought he was a student. I walked up to him and introduced myself.

"'Nora,' he said. 'That's a nice name. Greek, you know. My name is Hermes.' What a strange name, I thought. But I liked it. I sat, and we talked for hours. He was a messenger, he said. He traveled all around the world. I told him I was Irish, but I've never been to Ireland. He had friends there who he visited often. He told me that it was very green there, with bright blue skies. He spoke fluent Gaelic, even though he was from Greece. Yes, Katie, you're half Greek." I didn't know how to respond. Why was she telling me this, I thought? My father was dead. It didn't matter now. However, she continued talking.

"We met at that spot every night, and I fell for Hermes, fast. He fell for me, too. Within a week, we had our fist kiss. Our relationship moved fast, as did it end. We didn't have much time, he said. And it was true. I would be leaving soon, and he had work to do. You were conceived within a week and a half of meeting him. The day before I left, I found out I was pregnant, and I told him that he was going to be having a child. He didn't seem surprised at all. He said that he knew, his older brother told him. However, I had never met any of his family. So how could his brother have known?

"That's when he confessed the truth to me, of who he was; _what_ he was. Katie, your father is not dead. In fact, he never will be dead. That's because your father is Hermes, the immortal Greek god."


	4. Chapter 4

I stared at her, dumbfounded. She's gone crazy, I thought. She started blabbering about how sorry she was and hugged me. I kept my body stiff. She cried into my hair. I didn't move. She was insane. Finally, she let go and looked into my eyes. I kept my expression blank.

"You don't believe me," she whispered. I shook my head; I was much too nervous to talk. "I'll show you," she said, grabbing my hand. "Come on." We ran out of my room and out of the flat, down the stairs. We didn't use the elevator. We went down one level and my mom pounded on Sean's apartment door urgently. I heard feet padding on the carpet and Sean opened the door. His glasses were crooked and he was pulling up his pants. He saw my scared expression and my mother's maniac one, and he asked me what was going on with his eyes. My mother charged in the apartment, towing me behind her. She closed the door and turned around.

"Sean," she said. "Take off your pants." Um, what?

"Mom, I don't really want to see Sean without his pants on, it's okay. Here, we'll take you to a therapist or something, just…that's creepy, Mom." I interrupted. Mom held up the Converse to Sean. I hadn't realized she had brought them with her.

"Have you seen these before, Sean?" she asked

"Uh, yeah," he answered. "Katie showed them to me the other day." Her hands trembled.

"Did you hear what happened up there?"

"Um, I heard a lot of banging and screaming and crying…I was about to run up there but you knocked on my door. I just needed pants." I looked at him questioningly.

"And you weren't wearing pants because…?" I asked.

"I don't like pants, they irritate me."

"Sean!" my mother exclaimed. She stood up. "Guys, get in the car. I'm taking you to camp."

**Sorry, short chapter, I'm lazy today =] Please read and review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**OH MY GODS YOU GUYS, I'M SOO SORRY! I've learned this: I shouldn't work on more than one story at once D= The other one's finished though, I'm all yours!**

Mom started walking down the hallway. I rushed after her.

"Mom! What camp, where are we going? Are you sending me away for good? Please, I want to stay in New York!" I rambled on and on. I was close to tears. She just kept walking, a glassy expression on her face. Sean trotted behind me.

"It'll be okay, Katie," Sean said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "I go to that camp, too. It's really fun, and there are a lot of kids like you there." We exited the front doors of the apartment. Mom unlocked the car.

"Kids like me?" I asked. "Kids like _me_? Are you saying there's something _wrong _with me?" Sean's eyes widened.

"No, of course not! Just, you know…kids with the same kind of parents as yours…" His eyes darted around nervously. I glared at him. We got in the car. I sat next to Sean so I could stay as far away from Mom as I could.

"Ms. Griffin, what…what exactly happened with the shoes?" I glanced nervously at my feet. I had grabbed them from the passenger seat and was pulling them onto my feet.

"They're magical shoes." She stated. She kept her eyes on the road, so I couldn't see her expression. "They fly when you say Katie's middle name."

"Ooh," Sean said. He seemed to take that as an acceptable answer. "From Hermes?" She nodded.

"Who's Hermes? Sean, what's going on?"

"Katie, it's just that you're not like other kids."

"Sure I am. Are you calling me weird?"

"No, of course not!" He shook his head. His curly hair bounced all over the place. "They'll explain it to you at camp."

"What camp?" I was nearly hysterical. I had no idea what was going on, and Mom seemed to be driving faster and faster. We were going towards the direction of Long Island.

"Don't worry, I go to camp there, too. It's called Camp Half-Blood." I frowned. What a strange name.

"What's with the name?" I asked. I was no longer distressed, just curious. Maybe, in addition to dyslexia and ADHD, I had ADD, too. It wouldn't be a surprise to me.

"It's for half-bloods." He said that as if it cleared everything up. "You know, demigods."

"No, Sean, I don't know. In fact, the only thing I seem to know is that you and my mom are _insane_." Sean chuckled. He _chuckled_. Okay, I decided, he's officially crazy.

"Your mom told you already, Katie!" He smiled and leaned forward. "You're the child of a Greek god!"

"Um, Sean?"

"Yeah?" I hit him over the head. Something sharp stabbed at my hand.

"YOW!" I screeched. I held my hand. The meaty part on the side of palm, the part right next to the pinky, had two puncture holes in them. They were bleeding a bit. Sean rubbed his head.

"You really shouldn't hit a satyr on the head, Katie." Sean stated. "Especially if they're full-grown and have bigger horns than mine."

"Satyr? What's that?" In response, Sean kicked off his sneaker. Where there should have been a foot was a hoof.

I slumped back on my seat and fainted.

* * *

When I woke up, the car was slowing down. I wondered why I was in a car. Then, all the memories came rushing back to me. _It had to have been a dream_, I thought. I looked over at Sean. He wasn't wearing shoes—or pants. The whole car smelled like a barn. That was probably because Sean's legs weren't human legs. They were goat legs. I guess it hadn't been a dream, then.

I looked out the window. We weren't in the city anymore, so I guess we were on Long Island. There was a large hill in front of the car. One single, massive pine tree stood at the top. I could see the Long Island Sound sparkling in the distance. I sat up. Sean grinned at me.

"You're alive!" He exclaimed. I stared at him. "It's okay, you're not the first demigod to pass out on me before. You've actually come under very safe circumstances compared to some other half-bloods I've escorted." The car stopped.

"This is the farthest I can go, guys." My mom said, turning around. "Katie, I'll have your clothes sent to camp within a week. Until then, I'm sure you can steal from the store or something. They'll explain everything to you at camp." She kissed me on the forehead. Sean had gotten out of the car, trotted over to my side, and opened the door for me. I hesitantly got out. We made our way up the hill and passed the tree. The whole way up, I couldn't keep my eyes off of Sean's legs. They were just so…hairy. How could I have not noticed that he didn't have human legs? Well, it's not like he'd ever worn shorts or anything…

When we reached the top of the hill, I looked down on a valley. To our north was the Long Island sound, with Connecticut in the distance. The western part of the valley was a huge strawberry field. The center of the valley was occupied by twelve houses—or maybe they cabins. They all looked different. Next to that was what looked like a big Greek building, like that thing on the hill in Athens, what do they call it? The Parthenon. On the northwest side of the valley was a huge stadium. A large Greek building stood near where Sean and I were standing. Sean pointed to it.

"That's the Big House," he said. "That's where we're going now. Chiron and Mr. D will explain everything to you. I know this is confusing, but it'll all make sense soon. Hopefully." With that, he trotted down the hill towards the Big House. I went after him.

**Again, I apologize...and I'm sorry if it happens again, mid-terms are this week D= I'll try my hardest, though! I hope you enjoyed the chapter =D**


	6. Chapter 6

**I-I DID IT AGAIN. I AM SOO SORRY. I have been incredibly lazy lately. I also have gone into a manga kick, so please forgive me! **

I followed Sean down the hill. Kids were walking around everywhere. All of them were wearing bright orange t-shirts that said CAMP HALF-BLOOD in big black letters. Some of them had the same strange, furry legs as Sean did. We approached the Big House. It was appropriately named; it was huge. On the porch was a short, pudgy man and—to my surprise—John, Sean's dad. Sean and I walked—well, Sean trotted—up the stairs.

"Another job well done, Sean." John said. Sean shrugged.

"She was one of the easier ones, Chiron." He responded. I stared at him in disbelief. Was I just a job to him? And who was Chiron? He seemed to be looking at John when he said that.

"We should show her the orientation video now," Sean added. "C'mon." He trotted across the patio and through a door without waiting for me. I looked helplessly at John, who just smiled and gestured for me to go. I walked after Sean, John's wheelchair at my feet. Sean lead me through a large room with some beds in it (which I'm guessing was the infirmary, but it was nearly empty) and into a smaller room with a couch and one of those rolling TVs we had in school. I sat down on the couch and Sean turned off the lights and turned on the TV. Some muzak came on and a smiling boy popped up on the screen.

"This looks like a normal boy," said the narrator. "But in fact, he is a demigod. A demigod, also called a half-blood, is the child of a Greek god. If you are watching this video, you, too, are a demigod." I stared at the screen.

"Is this some kind of joke?" I asked Sean. He put his finger to his lips and gestured at the screen. I crossed my arms and sank back into the couch.

"There are twelve Olympian gods," the narrator continued. "The Big Three are Zeus—" A lightning bolt popped up on the screen—"Poseidon—" –A trident—"and Hades." –A black helmet. "You will not be seeing any children of the Big Three because of a pact made during World War II. You will also not be seeing children of Hera, Hestia, or Artemis." After each name, a peacock, fireplace, and silver bow and arrow popped up. The narrator named all the rest of the gods, showing their symbol after saying each name. The boy from the beginning of the video returned to the screen. His optimism was beginning to bother me.

"When a child is claimed, they are put into their cabin according to their parent." A picture of a lyre appeared above the boy's head.

"As you can see, this boy has been claimed by his father Apollo. Before you can be claimed, campers stay in the Hermes cabin, since he is the god of travelers. Some campers never get claimed, and minor gods and goddesses do not have cabins. Please enjoy your time at camp!" The video ended abruptly and faded into black.

**That's all I'm putting up for today, I just wanted to let you guys know I'm alive! I'm going away for a week, so know what to expect! Also, have any of the guys seen the PjatO movie? IT WAS A DISGRACE. I have a HUUGE rant on it on my Deviantart, you should look at it XD**


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